Hope
by MagicallyChallenged
Summary: Sectionals rolls around again and Emma needs to tell Will something...Special Ed Promo included


**For the amazing tenseconds, you did inspire me… Un Beta'd all mistakes are my own!**

**Sectionals**

She stands, hands in her pockets as the cold air rushes around her body making her wish for the warmth of his touch. She nervously bites down on her bottom lip as she drinks in his appearance, he looks worn down these days, like the heavy toll of work he takes home with him every night, to take up time in which he would normally dwell in the silence that his life had taken as its theme song. She knows he sits on the sofa; cushion on lap eating a meal that binged in the machine just seconds ago, his culinary tastes spoiled by the five minute marvels he's subjected himself to in the latter weeks. Yet as much as she wants his life to shift into the normality it once resided in she knows he's yet to discover a normalcy of his own. This is still a learning curve for him, and she can't be the one to assure him everything is going to work out fine because, she doesn't know it will and if there is one thing Emma knows, it's that false hope is worse than no hope at all.

She looks at his barely ironed shirt, the creases in the sleeves showing the carelessness he's been burdened with, and as he pulls his jacket over his arms she offers him a small smile, knowing her words of encouragement will reach his ears, but may not travel any further and for that she blames herself. She has let him down, her moving on wasn't supposed to happen, her happiness should have been lived with him, and the place she found herself should have been in his arms, but it was too complicated.

Things with them weren't ever black and white, he couldn't be the one she let her walls fall down with because as much as he pushed her to face her fears head on, he would be a comfort she could turn to when she needed it, and right now she needed, as much as she hated to admit it, she needed tough love. She needed to be pushed, and have someone treat her as if they weren't in tune with her fears and her needs, she needed the occasional walk in the rain without her umbrella, and the night filled with so much normalcy that when morning rolled around she forgot that she ate her toast without crusts and with a napkin underneath her plate. He can't give her this, the moment he saw her panic, he would be her knight in shining armour, with a handful of napkins and a mouthful of reassurances she needed him to keep to himself, but she never imagined it would affect him this much. She never knew that in helping herself she would be hurting him, that was the last thing she had wanted.

He pulled the zip from his waist to his chest in a fluid motion his hands reaching for the scarf tucked into his pocket before lacing it around his neck in an attempt to block out the cold that was tickling the unguarded patches of flesh he failed to cover up. She admired the colours in the fabric, smiling inwardly as she noted their ability to find even the smallest of things in common, and she wondered what had been on his mind as he had picked that scarf earlier that day. She wondered if he too had noticed that they matched, that if he looked around her neck instead of off into the foggy distance around them then he would see a replica sitting on her tiny shoulders, surrounded by carefree cherry strands that had lost their curl the moment his fingers touched them last and a smile on her face that ranged through so many emotions she wasn't sure which one was conveyed the most.

Moving closer to him, she allowed her hands to travel upwards, fixing the scarf so that it sat perfectly around his neck, still not ready to let go of the image of perfection she had for him...not just yet. Her fingers brushing lightly at the soft outline of his jaw as she encouraged him, to look her in the eyes, the instant he did she wished she hadn't. She saw a pain and worry she knew not even she could erase, and she saw a need for a friend, someone to be there beside him during this hard time and she knew she couldn't give him it. She had promised Carl, she had given him her word that anything that still existed between herself and Will Schuester was purely platonic, and that her idol worshipping had sailed off into the night over time. Deep down she knew she was lying to herself, and to Carl, she still felt the electricity shoot through her at the mere mention of his name, still felt butterflies dancing in her stomach when he stepped into a room and she had avoided attending glee practise because she wasn't sure hearing his slender tones as he sang along with the children they had all but raised, would be good for her composure.

As they stood in the parking lot, hours away from a bus ride that could change their lives, her amber orbs washing away in the ocean blue pools of sadness he aimed at her, she could only do one thing. Accept defeat, back off graciously and stay true to her allegiance, although she was beginning to wonder exactly where her allegiance lay and who she was hurting more because of it, Carl or herself.

She loved his company, loved how he made her feel, for everything he had done, and would continue doing, Carl was her saviour, but she still found herself wishing for more. She found herself wishing for nights spent in the arms of the man she knew her heart belonged to, the man who had loved her from afar, and had danced with her during wedding plans and made her feel like she was the only woman in the world. She wished for nights in his arms, and days where their hands never left one anothers, and when they did their smiles from across the room could close gaps in canyons, bring the most rapid of waterfalls to a complete standstill. She wished for him, and yet when the night drew in, her hands would be in anothers, not fitting snugly, but sitting comfortable enough that she wouldn't challenge his hold, she would stare into the serious, caring eyes of a man who held no recollection of chalked up noses, or PB and J halfsies, and at these thoughts her heart, would sadden.

She took a breath and smiled, raising her shoulders lightly as she spoke and twisting her feet nervously on the spot where she stood before speaking, 'Good Luck!"

Leaning in closer she allowed her lips to find his cheek, brushing gently along the day old scruff that decorated his jaw, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent of his aftershave and the light hint of freshness that came with the snow that was beginning to fall from the sky in light wisps that danced in the forgotten air before finding them. Allowing her heels to find the white covered floor again, she took a step back and turned to leave scanning the faces on the bus beside her, each one littered with a smile of hope, a hope that they would win sectionals, that they would be reunited with their friend and that, their teacher, the man who looked out for them like they were his own, would one day have a little hope of his own. Nodding towards the children and lifting her hand in a light wave she made her way towards the school, a smile on her face and a skip in her step, today was a day for hope, was a day for taking a stand and as she closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp winter air, a wash of will lingered behind and she smiled. So she couldn't be there with them this year due to obligations, and he couldn't be there for her when she needed him, but at least, when he needed a lift, needed to dig deep and encourage the kids as she had done last year, he could close his eyes and she would be there, in that soft place on his cheek where her kiss would forever remain.

**Please be kind, I know the ending sounded like something from a Disney production but seriously I haven't written Wemma in FOREVER, and I honestly thought Murphy had infected me with the virus aka, The Carl. It appears the simple remedy was to see her take action and kiss him for once, who knew a simple kiss on the cheek was the cure to a bad dental problem, Take that Stamos! Kapow!**

**Anwhos…. Please Review x**

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